Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Columbia, SC

April 4, 1989Fairfield County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this tornado warning at Apr 4, 1989, 6:51 PM EDT for Fairfield County, South Carolina. It was in force for 69 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Apr 4, 1989, 6:51 PM EDT (22:51 UTC)
Expired: Apr 4, 1989, 8:00 PM EDT
In force: 69 min
Issued by: NWS Columbia, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Fairfield County, SC

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 4, 7:35 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 0	Fairfield, SC

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 196 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 463 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -75 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 566 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 137 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 173 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KCAE 042253
TORCAE
SCC023-039-091-050000-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
651 PM EDT TUE APR 4 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  800 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
          ...CHESTER...FAIRFIELD...YORK
 
AT 645 PM A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE APPROACHING FROM THE WEST. THESE
THUNDERSTORMS HAS CAUSED DAMAGE IN THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA DURING THE PAST HOUR. THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING EAST AT
ABOUT 50 MPH.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
gIF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Columbia, SC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 4, 6:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Newberry	68 min
Apr 4, 6:37 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CAE	Newberry	68 min
Apr 4, 6:51 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CAE	Chester, York	69 min
Apr 4, 7:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Lexington, Richland	56 min
Apr 4, 7:29 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CAE	Lexington, Richland	61 min
Apr 4, 7:48 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Lancaster	57 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 1989 Every tornado warning in 1989 Tornadoes in 1989

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.